Chapter 33: The Strong Never Complain About Their Environment

“That long? Then won’t I have almost no time to play happily with Sister tonight?”

Struck by this sudden, tragic news, Luo Wushuang’s eyes went blank. She let out a mournful wail. “No! Anything but that!”

Shangguan Liqian simply watched the Empress Regnant’s soul-crushed expression with a calm gaze, a hint of schadenfreude dancing at the corners of her lips.

“Sister, stop reading that book and help me with these memorials,” Luo Wushuang pleaded in a small voice, tugging at Shangguan Liqian’s sleeve.

Shangguan Liqian gently flicked her sleeve, brushing Wushuang’s hand away. She spoke with an air of absolute solemnity. “That would be against protocol.”

Against protocol? Then was it ‘proper’ when Sister helped me organize them earlier?

Or… was it ‘proper’ when she was chasing me around to slap my face?

Wushuang saw right through her. Her sister was doing this on purpose—she clearly didn’t want to spend time with her!

Wushuang felt indignant, but she didn’t dare show it. Seeing that her sister was still seemingly piqued, she could only continue her act of submission. She blinked her watery phoenix eyes, looking at the other woman with an expression of pure, unadulterated innocence.

She prayed her sister would be moved by pity and accompany her.

Faced with a gaze more obedient than a puppy’s, Shangguan Liqian’s heart did indeed soften. However, she wasn’t ready to let the girl off so easily. Who told her to be so “incorrigible”?

“Do you know what you did wrong?” Shangguan Liqian asked tonelessly, flipping a page in her book.

Hearing this, Luo Wushuang nodded her head like a chicken pecking grain. “I know, I know! I definitely won’t mess around during the day anymore.”

In her heart, Wushuang cried out: Heaven be my witness, those aren’t my true feelings! It’s just that when one is under another’s roof, one must bow their head!

As long as I’m given the chance, never mind the daytime—I can adapt to any environment and any location!

After all… a strong person never complains about the environment!

Fortunately, Shangguan Liqian didn’t know what she was thinking, or she would have been incensed all over again.

Even without knowing Wushuang’s inner monologue, Shangguan Liqian didn’t intend to drop the matter quite yet. “Then tell me, what were you thinking about just now?”

Shangguan Liqian’s question seemed casual, but she was already inwardly pondering how to help the girl break this habit of… “going into heat” at any time or place.

Hearing the question, Luo Wushuang hesitated. Should she really say it? She had a feeling that if she spoke the truth, her sister would be even angrier than she was now.

“If you don’t want to say it, then forget it.” Shangguan Liqian turned away again, adopting a posture that suggested she would ignore Wushuang forever if she didn’t speak.

Luo Wushuang carefully recalled her psychological activities from a moment ago, still wavering. “Then… Sister, you have to promise not to get angry.”

Shangguan Liqian gave a soft “Mhm,” looking like she was listening intently.

Luo Wushuang scooted forward a bit more, leaning into Shangguan Liqian’s ear and whispering, “I was thinking…”

By the time Luo Wushuang finished, Shangguan Liqian’s face had turned a visible shade of crimson.

Since she was the one who insisted on asking, she couldn’t easily lash out. Her original plan to use this as an educational moment vanished instantly; her mind was now filled with mental images that were practically pixelated for decency.

She slapped away the hand that was tentatively reaching toward her and left behind a single sentence: “Can’t you have a single decent thought in that head of yours?”

Then, she turned and marched into the Inner Hall, slamming the door shut behind her.

Luo Wushuang watched her sister’s retreating back in a daze, inwardly pouting. How was she being “indecent”?

The ancients said it themselves: appetite and lust are fundamental human nature! She was being perfectly proper!

Feeling like a true person of virtue, the solitary Luo Wushuang looked at the empty hall and the piles upon piles of memorials nearby. Her expression of tragic indignation deepened.

However, for the sake of resting with her sister as early as possible, she worked to turn that indignation into strength. She toggled her brain into “Madness Memorial-Processing Mode.”

Unfortunately, by the time dinner arrived, more than half of the memorials remained.

Shangguan Liqian was still annoyed by the girl’s lack of verbal restraint and hadn’t intended to call her for the meal. In the end, however, she couldn’t help but gently tug the chain on her wrist twice.

The moment Luo Wushuang felt the signal, she scurried over like a puppy that had caught the scent of meat. “Sister…”

Shangguan Liqian shot a look of utter disdain at the Empress Regnant, whose smile looked incredibly “cheap” at that moment. She said coldly, “Stay away from me.”

A flicker of hurt passed through Luo Wushuang’s eyes. She manually dragged her chair a tiny bit further away. Then, while her sister wasn’t looking, she stealthily moved both herself and the chair back.

She checked the distance between her chair and her sister’s, then continued her covert migration…

Shangguan Liqian noticed the little movements but couldn’t be bothered to call her out. As long as Luo Wushuang wasn’t being exceptionally outrageous, she was willing to be somewhat indulgent.

It wasn’t until Luo Wushuang was practically glued to her side that she finally had to speak up. “Do not push your luck.”

Meeting her sister’s warning gaze, Luo Wushuang’s movements paused. Then… she became even more blatant about it.

Getting hit was better than being ignored. A strong person never complains about the environment, nor do they complain about a lack of opportunity. If there is no opportunity, one must create it.

Success is always full of risks and challenges. If one doesn’t try, how will they know if they’ll—

Smack!

Accompanied by an exasperated shout and a crisp—though not particularly hard—slap, the brat who was practically begging for a beating was finally brought to heel.

“Are you going to eat properly?” Shangguan Liqian asked with a gentle, terrifying smile, looking like the legendary beauty Pan Jinlian offering a “healing” tonic to her husband.

(Note: A reference to Pan Jinlian, a classic femme fatale who famously poisoned her husband while pretending to be a dutiful wife.)

Having received a slap and a pinch to the soft flesh of her waist, Luo Wushuang grinned while wincing in pain. “I will! I will! Sister, try this pig’s trotter, it’s delicious…”

Looking at the large, greasy trotter—which was admittedly aromatic—Shangguan Liqian wore a look of disgust as she picked up a large piece and stuffed it into the mouth of the rambling Empress.

She didn’t like such things; just looking at them made her feel full.

The food Shangguan Liqian found so distasteful was a treasure to Luo Wushuang. But before she could even show an expression of enjoyment, Shangguan Liqian quietly shifted further away from her.

Eating something so greasy late at night… she’s going to turn into a fat pig one day!

Luo Wushuang, unaware that she and the trotter were being equally judged, gorged herself while secretly calculating how to “persuade” her sister to help with the memorials later. And then tonight… hehe…

Meanwhile, Shangguan Liqian ate while casting puzzled glances at the Luo Wushuang who was currently shoveling food into her mouth. Why is this girl so quiet today? I’m almost not used to it.

Luo Wushuang, who had stayed quiet for the duration of the meal, immediately grabbed Shangguan Liqian after finishing and pulled her over to the low table to look at memorials.

Knowing that this person only felt secure when they were together, Shangguan Liqian didn’t continue to give her the cold shoulder. Under Wushuang’s pleading, her heart softened, and she resumed helping her organize the documents, offering suggestions along the way.

With the two of them working together, their efficiency was exceptionally high. What would have normally taken nearly four hours was completed in only two.

Then… during the long, long night that followed, Shangguan Liqian regretted her moment of soft-heartedness more than once.

She realized that pressure is much like a smile—it never truly disappears; it only transfers from one place to another.